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As recommended in guide books:

Highly recommended in Lonely Planet Guide BookÂ (page 507):Voyage Vietnam (Tel: 04. 3926 2373, www.voyagevietnam.net). Another locally run outfit, this company is quickly earning itself a good reputation. Hondas, Yamahas and Minsks. Prices start from around US$100 per day.

CUSTOMER’S COMMENTS

Note: This is some of comments of customers who took a vietnam motorbike tours & motorbike adventures with us. Mototours AsiaÂ will not reveal customers email addresses to any third party, the only people who have access to customers email addresses and personal information are the staff and the website administrators. Therefore, you first have toÂ contact usÂ for the permission from our customers to email them.

All comments are provided “as is“, both good and bad ones. Mototours Asia does not verify or change any information in customers’ comments, and we always welcome suggestions to improve our tours. Honesty is the most important thing for our business!

Transportation? Two motocyle were in a neally good condition but the red one made a lot of trouble( nearlly each day)

Accommodation: They were quite good exepet Bac Son, we prered homestays out of the city.

Food: We had always the right amount of food!

The organization – Guide services – Knowledge: He knows a lot about the country. Heâ€™d ways tried to some problems as fast as possible. We were really happy with our guide. He was friendly , helpful and we áº¹noyed to travel with him.

How did you hear about us? Internet.

Others: Idea: Include one bottle of the water each for lunch and dinner. Other wise its always complicated with paying.

Transportation: We needed a bigger bike. Our yamaha 125 was reliable but the offroad riding was difficult with a pillion passenger.

Accommodation: Homestays were excellent and hotels very good, especially in Meo Vac.

Food: Enormous

The organization – Guide services – Knowledge: Tan is an excellent guide. He is very calm + patient, very well. Tan had excellent knowledge of the tour, the bikes, the landscape and people. Cong was also an excellent mechanic and very friendly.

The price: Yes. But I think in future, the pillion passenger should pay Â½ price of the rider. Eg: 800 for rider, 400 for passenger.

Accommodation: Homestay is better place to make friendship with the locals but hotel was very good.

Food: Sufficient

The organization – Guide services – Knowledge: 120%

The price:(Was the tour good value for money?) If our tour guide gets a good wage, yes it is

How did you hear about us? Lonely Planet

Full name: Gontier Anne Address: Paris

Contact us if you want to email Gontier Anne.

Wilbert en Liesbeth Florack|Motorbike tour in the North of Vietnam.

Hello, In June (2005) we made a motor trip through the north of Vietnam. We we’re advised to go to a just opened tour office in Hanoi, who promised an adventure and beautiful motor trip, with an experienced guide, through the north-east of Vietnam, visiting places where almost no tourist had been before. And they made every promise come true!! Therefore we would like to recommend this office to be named in the next edition of your Vietnam L.P. The staff and the guides are very experienced, and have knowledge about their country, the several ethnics living, are very enthusiastic and speak very well English and French. The office took a long time of preplanning and working before opening, and are very into saving the natural environment, saving the culture and tradition of the hill tribes, and still offer the tourist their trip of a lifetime. The staff is very serious into delivering a good job, and to our opinion they earn a recommendation. They offer motor trips through Vietnam, still developing different routes, and also by car or bus. For the motor trip they supply motor clothes, gloves, helmets, motor bags and anything else needed, because safety of the customer is very important. They offer adventures by Car, bus and motorbike, through the Ho Chi Minh Trail through jungles, crossing rivers, following the Frontier of Laos and China, and much more, for a day or several days. They are working on a website, which will probably be ready within one month. So please check them out, and advise them in your Vietnam Lonely Planet. The name of the office: VOYAGE VIETNAM LTD Add: 1 Luong Ngoc Quyen Str. (old quarter) Hanoi, Vietnam Tel/Fax: +84.4.9262373 E-mail: info@voyagevietnam.net Website: www.voyagevietnam.net We travelled several times through South-East Asia, always with the Lonely Planet in our hand, as the holy travellers bible. This is the first time we recommend a company. But we were very impressed by the staff of all there sincere efforts to offer what they promise, that’s why we think they earned a recommendation. We wish your staff and company much success and keep up the good (information) work! With kind regards, Wilbert en Liesbeth Florack

Accommodation: The homestays were the best and i twas good to relax inthe guesthouses sometime. The quality at the hotel was good.

Food: Sufficient quantity.

The organization – Guide services: Good and excellent attitude. Some restaurants was quiet dirty , the homestays serve the best food. The guide couls have better knowledge at sightsing opportunities in some areas, though it’s quiet difficult to know as a tourist what to visit sometimes.

The price: Yes.

How did you hear about us? Though internet and lonely planet vietnam.

Others:

Full name: John Nilsoon. Address: Radmansgatan 10 24434 Solvesborg Sweden. Contact us if you want to email Mr John Nilsoon.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Good amount of travel. More stops at beautiful places for photos would be good.

What were your favorite places? Ha Giang â€“ the market and scenery.

Accommodation: Accomodation was good.

Food: Enormous.

The organization – Guide services: Tuyen was a very friendly and fun guide and had a good knowledge of riding in muder. Fair. I would have been happy it he volunteered more information though about local minority people.

The price: We were happy with the price although it was expensive for us. I was also a little disappointed when our two porson tour became a six person tour.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: There was a lot of riding each day, but I think we drove “cautiously”(slow !) â€“ the distance we covered allowed us to see a lot, which was fantastic â€“ but maybe there would be an option of a shorter route with more relax/reflection time.

Accommodation: Homestays were fantastic- great experience, great hosts, very comfortable. Hotels/guesthouse was fine.

Food: Enormous.

The organization – Guide services: Tuyen was a fantastic guide â€“ easy going, a natural leader, I really trusted him and felt he was very patient teacher! Great sense of humour too. Good â€“ He gave us some interesting informations. I would like to know more about the different hill tribes and who they are, maybe also about the history and war( ex : the cave was particularly interesting because he told us it was used by local people to hide in ).

The price: Definitely great value for money but still was expensive for us !

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Travel time and stops were good meaning ample time for photo’s and interactions with locals.

What were your favorite places? All so good, do not have any one points as favourite but meeting locals especially children in all the remote areas will be with me for ever.

Accommodation: Homestays great but some others not so good. No air-con/ hot water in one guest house â€“ dissappointing but didn’t detract from the whole experience.

Food: Enormous.

The organization – Guide services: Great attitude â€“ always helpfull. What he didn’t know â€“ he found out.

The price: I felt our tour was great value.

How did you hear about us? Lonely Planet Guide.

Others: Had to buy boots as no boots/gloves left. I understand reasons for using the old Russian bikes and some might say they add to the experience. But I felt riding compfort & ease could be improved by using 4 strokes( less smoke for last ride & locals). A lot of locals expressed their dislike or the smokes when passing, 4 strokes would help considerably in steep/rough road and also in traffic. Less experiences might find your bikes more difficult to ride in some stances.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: The stops were all good. The ant of travelling each day was perfect for me as I had never ridden a motorbike before. Also this allowed for time to stop, take photos, swim at waterfalls and explore caves.

What were your favorite places? All!! “Home stays” were most enjoyable accommodation.

Accommodation: All the accommodation was great, but enjoyed staying with families at homestays the most. Some guest houses were not maintained â€“ ie air conditioner and hot water not working. While this didn’t bother us, it might bother others.

Food: Enormous. Some places were a little disappointing but homestay all very good-excellent.

The organization – Guide services: Our guide spoke good English and there was no language barrier. He was happy to interpret when he stayed with local familes. Our guide was always happy to answer our many, many questions and most helpful with all our request. Our guide had a good knowledge of local roads, hill tribes and their culture customs and also general Vietnamese culture. Our guide had an excellent attitude â€“ nothing was too much trouble. He made sure we enjoyed our ride and was happy with our trip. The office went out of their way to tailor the trip to suit our needs and offered good advice about the trip.

The price: Even though we paid more because there was only 2 of us ( not 4 ) the tour was excellent value for money and we had a totally personalized tour . I would always recommend this company tours, rather going by yourself or with a less experienced ( maybe less expensive) company. We had a great trip and there were no problems, but if there are problems ( like roads closed due to landslides etc) then the guide local knowledge and the support of the company is invaluable in being able to continue your trip and enjoy it. “Excellent value for money” will highly recommend to all !!

How did you hear about us? Lonely Planet Guide.

Others: There were no gloves or boots available for us to use. A very big “THANK YOU” to our guide “Quynh” and also “Tuan” who organized our trip. Much appreciated!

Any other comments? It is possible to pass the North as an inexperienced driver (look at me), although I would suggest to take a trip up east or west as a starter any way, you â€˜ ll return twice as swilled.

Full name: Mr.De Bruyn Kevin Contact us if you want to email Mr.De Bruyn Kevin.

Ms.Sarah Buckey (4 persons, northwest, from June 27th to June 30th 2007)

I. Tempo of the tour and the stop â€“ over. Would you suggest different stops, was the amount of travelling each day suitable? For beginners a few more stops for drinks,scenic spots. What were your favorite palaces? Babe lake going for a swim was great. II. Transportation (car â€“driver â€“ motorcycle) Motorcycle – driver. III. Accommodation: The accomodation was excellent and food was delicious. The families were very friendly and welcoming. I prefer family home stays. IV. Food: enormous quantity, excellent quality V. The organization – Guide services: :Excellent attitude, Knowledge: excellent. Good language.He was great fun, very positive. Would take him again. Extremely patient. VI. The price: Was the tour good value for money? Yes. VII. How do you know about us? Lonely planet. Internet. VIII. Any other comments? It was an excellent introduction to Vietnam! Made everyone fell like bikes. Full name: Ms. Sarah Buckey Adress:Ireland Contact us if you want to email Ms. Sarah Buckey.

Ms. Martina Mulligan (4 persons, northwest, from June 27th to June 30th 2007)

I. Tempo of the tour and the stop â€“ over. Would you suggest different stops, was the amount of travelling each day suitable? A few more stop â€“ long journey for no stops.more waterfalls. What were your favorite palaces? Babe â€“ swimming in lake. II. Transportation (car â€“driver â€“ motorcycle) Motorcycle, minx â€“ 125cc. III. Accommodation: perfect IV. Food: sufficient quantity, excellent quality V. The organization – Guide services: : Excellent attitude, Knowledge: we put a lot of questions. All were answered a handy man when it comes to fixing bikes 10 out of 10. Fluent language. VI. The price: Was the tour good value for money? Yes. VII. How do you know about us? Lonely planet. Internet. VIII. Any other comments? Some routes were extremely tough. Dangerours for beginners but serious fun â€“ people should be made aware. Full name: Ms. Martina Mulligan. Contact us if you want to email Ms. Martina Mulligan.

Mr. Ms. Ilse | June 27 th - June 30th | Northwest motorbike tours

Ms. Ilse (two persons, northwest, from June 27th to June 30th 2007)

I. Tempo of the tour and the stop â€“ over. Would you suggest different stops, was the amount of travelling each day suitable? More stops would be great! What were your favorite palaces? Swimming in the lake in Babe â€“ scenery was beautiful. II. Transportation (car â€“driver â€“ motorcycle) Motorcycle. III. Accommodation: accomadation was perfect â€“ definitely private houses are better. IV. Food: quantity, excellent quality. V. The organization – Guide services: Excellent attitude, Knowledge: very informative â€“ answered all questions all the time. Fixed the bikes without any problems.Fluent language. VI. The price: Was the tour good value for money? Yes. VII. How do you know about us? Saw website. VIII. Any other comments? Should be told about the road conditions before deparding. Full name: Ms. Ilse Contact us if you want to email Ms. Ilse.

Mr. Tanat Lewis (two persons, northwest, from June 16th to June 23rd 2007)

I. Tempo of the tour and the stop â€“ over. Would you suggest different stops, was the amount of travelling each day suitable? Stops were excellent and thankfully frequent to take photos and rest our achong back â€“ sides! What were your favorite palaces? The home â€“ stays were all highlights of our trip.Day 4 of our trip from Ha Giang was absolutery amazing â€“ incredible scenery. II. Transportation (car â€“driver â€“ motorcycle) The Minsk is most definitely the approriate mode of transport for this trip â€“ they have lots of character and are suprisingly comfortable. III. Accommodation: all four home â€“ stays were fantastic â€“ it was so good to share time with the familles and experience how they lived. The hotels were ok, but would have much prefered more home â€“ stays. IV. Food: enormous quantity, excellent quality. V. The organization – Guide services: Excellent attitude, Knowledge: cannot speam highly enough of Dat- He was always enthusiastic and more than happy to share all his knowledge with us. He was also incredibly sociable creating a really good atmosphere wherever we were.Fluent language. Nothing was too much trouble. He was always very professional but at the same time, knew how to have a good time. VI. The price: Was the tour good value for money? Would definitely do the trip again at the same price. VII. How do you know about us? Through asking around Hanoi. VIII. Any other comments? The best thing that were done on our travers. Really hard work at times but not knowing what was around every corner made us forget about our knes and pains. Would not hesitate to recommend this tour to anxone. Full name: Mr.Tanat Lewis, Mrs. Hannah Rawlings. Contact us if you want to email Mr.Tanat Lewis, Mrs. Hannah Rawlings.

Mr. Nicholas Gehrke (two persons, northwest, from May 30th to June 3rd)

I. Tempo of the tour and the stop â€“ over. Would you suggest different stops, was the amount of travelling each day suitable? All good. What were your favorite palaces? Mountains, remote areas. II. Transportation (car â€“driver â€“ motorcycle) Motorcycle III. Accommodation: Good â€“ no preference but good to do both. IV. Food: Sufficient quantity, good quality. V. The organization – Guide services: very professional attitude. Knowledge: answered every question. Good language. Others: lots of fun. VI. The price: Was the tour good value for money? Yes VII. How do you know about us? Internet. VIII. Any other comments? Best tour Iâ€™ve been on. Full name: Nicholas Gehrke Address: 44 Zischke Rd Plainland Qld Australia

Contact us if you want to email Brian Bolin

Mr. Brad Hickey | May 1 st - 11st | Northeast motorbike

Mr. Brad Hickey (one people, Northeast from May 1st to May 11th 2007)

I. Tempo of the tour and the stop â€“ over. Would you suggest different stops, was the amount of travelling each day suitable? Last day travelling was silly. 4 hours on a free way. What were your favorite palaces? Dong Van, Meo Vac route, School in Pho Bang, Chinese border, market in Dong Van. II. Transportation (car â€“driver â€“ motorcycle) The Minsk was fine, clutch a problem, and too weak in certain steep slopes. III. Accommodation: Accommodations were acceptable, but the frogs were too loud in Quang Uyen. IV. Food: sufficient quantity, normal quality V. Guide services: Excellent attitude, Knowledge: Hung was superb, he translated well, allowing me to feel included in the weeks and kept us on schedule. He knew the history + road well and was aware of my needs. Also a good student at history and fantastic at answering any questions. Good language. VI. The price: Was the tour good value for money? Except the last day, all was well VII. How do you know about us? By accident. VIII. Any other comments? A fun trip, to very remote part of VN. I enjoyed all of it, especially the Flower Hâ€™mong people. Full name: Brad Hickey

Contact us if you want to email Mr. Brad Hickey

Mr. Hjalte Tin | April 1st - 11st | Northwest motorbike tour

Mr. Hjalte Tin (seven people. April 1 -11, Northwest, Motorbike)

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: fine but no night travel.

What were your favorite places? all was fine – variety.

Transportation: fine

Accommodation: Home stay

Food: Good quantity â€“ almost too much.

The organization – Guide services: Excellent attitude. Knowledge: Hanoi â€“ too little good at asking people to tell us more. Good language.

Was the tour good value for money? Yes

How did you hear about us? Internet

Full name: Hjalte Tin Contact us if you want to email Hjalte Tin

Mrs. Kitta Lawton | April 1st - 11st | Northwest motorbike tours

Mrs. Kitta Lawton (seven people. April 1 -11, Northwest, Motorbike)

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: The amounts of travelling were suitable. Stops could be a bit less touristic.

What were your favorite places? The homes stay, and the dirt roads.

Transportation: motorcycle

Accommodation: Private houses

Food: sufficient quantity. Excellent quality.

The organization – Guide services: Excellent attitude. Tien was a very good guide. Has good general knowledge. Would like more in depth commentary. Good language.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: less touristic, suitable travelling.

What were your favorite places? Mai Chau. Road to Tuan Giao.

Transportation: car-having problems starting. Would have been an extra plus if the driver spoke English so he could tell about the landscape while driving.

Accommodation: A mixture is good. The hotels were fine. The one in Sapa was very cold.

Food: food. Sufficient quantity. Good service for vegetarians. Good quality.

The organization – Guide services: Excellent attitude. The sightseeing tour the fist day was not so good. Too little knowledge and the plan changed all the time. Fair knowledge, good culture, fair ethnology, fair sociology. The guide was good at asking people we met about things we asked. He could have told more by himself. Ecology could also have been interesting to hear about. Fair language. Good spirits and flexible.

Was the tour good value for money? Absolute perfect!

How did you hear about us? Via Hjalte Moto Mundo.

Other: The motorcycles should be totally trekked and ready for departure and fully fuelled!

Full name: Mrs. Ida Contact us if you want to email Mrs. Ida

Moto Mundo member | April 1st - 11st | Northwest motorbike

Moto Mundo member (seven people. April 1 -11, Northwest, Motorbike)

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: I liked visit a local village on our way, not planned but very interesting. More unplanned stop could be nice, but then the distance has to be shorter.

What were your favorite places? 2 overnight stay in Thai village and all the beautiful nature along the way.

Transportation: motorcycle.

Accommodation: The accommodation was good but the best was in private houses and excellent with entertainment. Food: Sufficient quantity. Very good food and plenty. Good quality. The organization – Guide services: Excellent attitude. Very good / excellent contact ( communication) with local people in all places we stopped. Good language. Very nice person always very helpful! And solve problem easily when ever needed.

The organization – Guide services: Excellent attitude, very good knowledge and very good assistance. Very helpful and enthusiastic.

Was the tour good value for money? Yes

How did you hear about us? Internet

Others comments: Bathroom facilities very minimal but ok if you are used to camping (ice – no hot water sometimes). Hotel Camellia unsatisfactory. If you can bring any of your own motorcycle gear bring helmet and boots as first priority and gloves (pants and jacket supplied ok).

Full name: Matthew Ball. Address: AUSTRALIA. Contact us if you want to email Matthew Ball.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Travelling each day was fine. And the stops we made were great.

What were your favorite places? The villages, and staying over night with the people there!

Transportation: 5 motorbikes, 1 car with driver

Accommodation: private houses were a lot more interesting and fun.

Food: Sufficient quantity. Excellent quality

The organization – Guide services: Excellent attitude. Excellent knowledge. Thang was fantastic and I had a great time. Our driver was also great. Thank- you to the two of them. Fluent language, again Thang was great. It was all so much fun, and I would recommend you to anyone!

Was the tour good value for money? It was greats!

How did you hear about us? Matt from our group found out about you.

Others comments: Thang was fantastic and I had a great time. Our driver was also great. Thank- you to the two of them.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Yes, the travelling distance was good.

What were your favorite places? they was all good, DIEN BIEN PHU street lights in main street were cigars

Transportation: motorcycle 5 days- car with driver 5 days.

Accommodation: was good in most hotel â€“ first night hotel in PHU YEN was not good â€“ very disorganized, no hot wattage for shower, not enough rooms.

Food: Sufficient quantity, good quality.

The organization – Guide services: Excellent attitude.DAT and LONG were very good. We will be recommending your tours to our friends in Australia because of the friendly service from our guides. Very good knowledge, no questions them could not answer. Fluent language.

Was the tour good value for money? Yes, very good value.

How did you hear about us? internet.

Full name: LYNDON Pelly and KERRY Hobbs. Contact us if you want to email LYNDON Pelly and KERRY Hobbs.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Riding for each day just enough. It is good to separate moving day and sight seeing days.

What were your favorite places? For riding, National Park riding from Phong Nha to Khe Sanh was the best for me. A Luoi to Hue was another good riding. For sight seeing Hue in Tet was great. I saw fireworks and many exciting events.

Transportation: Transportations other than bike was good enough and riding Minsk was great.

Accommodation: : Some local place accommodation was poor but I guess I cannot expect much on such a remote place. Dinner in Mai Chau with host family is unforgettable. Hotel in Hoi An was the best during this tour. May be staying 50% at the trip in private house is recommended. Otherwise, it is very difficult to make a chance to talk to local people.

Food: Quality: We enjoyed much kind of foods. Good selection of the restaurant. Enough and plenty quantity.

The organization – Guide services: I had numbers of e- mail between Voyage Vietnam before trip and I needed to change our schedule several times and you were very flexible to my request. Even on the travel, route was changed per our request. It is great!

The attitude of your guide: First day, Hung was just a guide, second day we became friends, third day until end of the trip, he is now like my family. Great skill, good knowledge, great mechanic! I saw him on 5:30 AM to repair engine during this trip. The timing each day: Generally good. Since trip was only 8 days, we could not allocate time at the local village but it is ok we could take an opportunity at Mai Chau. His knowledge: about the knowledge, Hung guided us very good at Vietnamese history and culture. It seems to be his leaning in college was very useful to this job. The guideâ€™s language: His English skill was good enough. Other comments about the services and guide: I used walked- Talker and GPS for this trip and it very useful to find when somebody got lost on warn the hazard such as cows or Buffer los on the road or to estimate where we are and how much more to go.

Was the tour good value for money? Expensive compared to open bus tour but reasonable for the adventure and effort of the guiding.

How did you hear about us? I will recommend Voyage Vietnam to others. But it is not recommended for the people who do not speak French or English. I found Voyage Vietnam on the internet.

Other comments: I recommend voyage Vietnam to any open minded travellers – thinks this trip needed a little experience to enjoy the whole thing.

The attitude of your guide: Excellent, the guide is very sincerely and honoured.The timing each day: Enjoyed and very good. His knowledge: very good. He learns international relations and knows Vietnam very well.The guideâ€™s language: English. Other comments about the services and guide: nothing special.

Was the tour good value for money? Included Gas, meals, hotel very good. It is good value, but if we are more than 5 need to discount, or need more guide.

How did you hear about us? From friend (Ryo- San).

Other comments: I recommend voyage Vietnam to any open minded travellers – thinks this trip needed a little experience to enjoy the whole thing.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: The amount of travelling was fine, a little short for me but Iâ€™m used to long distances.

What were your favorite places? All of the scenery was perfect. Heavenâ€™s gate and the off road sections were excellent.

Transportation: Motorcycle

Accommodation: : More home stays would be good.

Food: Enormous quantity. More than enough food. Excellent quality

The organization – Guide servicesExcellent attitude. Tien is a bonus to the company. Excellent interaction specially being only one customer . His knowledge of Vietnam and the different tribes gave me all the information I needed to enjoy this tour. Fluent language.

Was the tour good value for money? Excellent value.

How did you hear about us? Internet

Other comments: The Minskâ€™s are a dying breed, but they did the job no complaints. If they stopped, Tien got them going again. The balance of all road, side road and good road was excellent.

Full name: Neva Williams Address: 68.TIMBARRA . Contact us if you want to email Neva Williams

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: It all worked out very well, each place was great. I have no complaints, just praise.

What were your favorite places? The mountain villages were incredible. Ba Be Lake was unreal & it offered an unusual experience in that it allowed us to get off the beaten path.

Transportation: Minsk.

Accommodation: I prefer private houses by FAR. The people whose homes we stayed in were welcoming and friendly, it wasn’t awkward at all and the best times were over dinner and rice wine in someone’s kitchen.

Food: Enormous quantity. Every meal seemed like a 4 – 10 course banquet, especially at the homestays where we ate food prepared by the family. DELICIOUS!

The organization – Guide services: Excellent attitude. Our bikes had a few problems and Tien handled it all with composure and humour. It was his first trip to lead and it was incredible! He took care of our every need. Good knowledge. It’s really hard to come up with words to say how wonderfully de did, everything was taken care of. Good language. Tien was the best, he became part of the family. Even though we didn’t know the others before leaving, at the end we were all like a family! Driving through 15km of mud will do that I guess!

The price: Without a doubt. Not having to think about money because almost everything is covered in the daily fee taken care.

How did you hear about us? I took a 2 nights trip a month or so ago, and loved every moment of that one as well. I had to come back.

Any other comments: At first (after my first trip with Voyage Vietnam) I thought I’d been lucky to have such a GREAT guide. It turned out, however, that they’re all just incredible at this, and my second trip was phenomenal. This company will go far if they’re all like this.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: The amount of riding, stopping and travelling was very well balanced. We had one short day with a leisurely boat ride on a lake, with a stop on an island for a refreshing swim.

What were your favorite places? The mountains of the far northeast were breathtaking. They rose majestically from the landscape very steeply all around, almost like sharks teeth I’ve never seen anything like it.

Transportation: The Minsk motorbikes were great. Powerful enough that handled the mountain roads very well, allowing us to take some very small roads through very remote areas.

Accommodation: The homestays were the best. You got to experience a family first hand. See how they live, hear the roosters at 5 am and eat really good food. With our guide as translator, we were able to ask many questions about all aspects of their lives. I would never pick a hotel over the opportunity of a homestay.

The organization – Guide services: Excellent attitude. Tien was a great guide. A cheerful translator and in every way a professional. On one day that one of the Minsk had troubles, he repaired it himself 3 times; it’s hard to imagine a better, more friendly guide. Excellent knowledge. Fluent language. Since my daughter is learning to speak Vietnamese, Tien was always helping her with new words, phrases and pronunciation.

The price: An amazingly good value. Very pleasant to not have to pay for each meal, each stay, each gas fill-up too!

How did you hear about us? My daughter took a 3 days 2 nights tour in October.

Any other comments: I can’t recommend this company any more highly. It truly is the experience of a lifetime.

Full name: Christopher BAIN Address: USA Contact us if you want to email Mr Christopher BAIN.

What were your favorite places? Ba Be lake and Ban Gioc waterfalls due to the amazing scenery there. The dirt track and bamboo bridge between Quang Uyen and Dong Khe provided an exciting ride so I enjoyed that part very much also.

Transportation: Motorcycle.

Accommodation: Basic but clean and comfortable accommodation. I definitely prefer the homestay, the host are warm and welcoming and it really gives the opportunity to experience the region.

Any other comments: I was looking for something a little different and this tour provided just that. It greatly exceeded my expectations and was an experience I’ll never forget. Amazing scenery, warm people, tasty food and a great ride on the Minsk. I am looking forward to a tour of the North West in summer 2007.

Full name: John BRIFFA Address: UK Contact us if you want to email Mr John BRIFFA

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: : We did 6 days & everyday was perfect amount of riding for our group except the last day which seemed to drag on.

What were your favorite places? I really enjoyed the stay in our homestay family (very nice people) and my second favourite place was an unscheduled stop in Pa So. I didn’t like Sa Pa as much but it was probably because of the bad weather.

Transportation: Great motorbike (minus the fact that it died & Hung didn’t know what was wrong)

Accommodation: As mentioned previously, the homestay was great but it was nice to stay in hotels as well. Ideally, on our 6 days trip, 2 or 3 homestays would have been the best.

Food: Enormous quantity. The food was excellent & there was always enough to feed us and more. No complaints. Perfect. Excellent quality. So yummy.

The organization – Guide services: Excellent attitude. Hung was such a great guide. His English was exceptional & his personality & attitude were amazing. He did such a great job & we appreciated it. 🙂 Best guide yet :). Excellent knowledge. Hung was honestly a great guide & we can’t thank him enough for everything he did for us. Fluent language.

The price: : It is a bit expensive but once you do the trip you realise that it is worth every penny.

How did you hear about us? From the Lonely Planet (suggested the bike shop who in turn suggested the tour with you.

Any other comments: The company was really professional (great English & level of professionalism)

Full name: Nathalie MARTIN and Eric AMYOTTE Address: CANADA Contact us if you want to email Ms Nathalie MARTIN and Mr Eric AMYOTTE

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: : I would add 2 or 3 days to the western Laos portion of the trip, and begin and end in Luang Prabang.

What were your favorite places? Bokeo / Golden Triangle and where the road ended.

Transportation: The Minsk is light and maneuverable, and it fits well on a long-tail. I don’t think this trip could have been accomplished on another machine. A larger machine would be nice for graded and/or sealed roads.

Accommodation: When there are only 1 or 2 guesthouses in the last village you pass at the end of the day, it is hard to be picky.

Food: Sufficient quantity. Good quality. I do not plan to seek out a Laotian restaurant when I return home.

The organization – Guide services: Good attitude. Good knowledge. Good language. Keep in mind this trip was 90% in Laos. It all exceeded my expectation.

The price: Considering the logistics involved good value.

How did you hear about us? Internet search.

Any other comments: This was a difficult trip that involved running out of road two times and continuing along up the Mekong by long tail – once for 3 hours and once for an hour. Could not have done this without the Minsk which, by the way, gave us no mechanical difficulty to speak of the entire time. The guides – Tuan and Dat were wonderful. They put a lot of thought and effort into this trip, for what I am guessing is little no profit. If you are considering this trip please feel free to email me with question. For all others, I recommend Voyage Vietnam.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: I found the amount of travelling adequate. Sometimes longer, some days shorter. But it depends on weather and road conditions. I would, now that it is over, try to make more night stops at family houses. It was a great experience.

What were your favorite places? The three homestays more great. In terms of landscape, I really liked it between Son La and Lai Chau. Sapa was great, although we got really drenched in water. The more rugged roads were better, but it depends on the driving expertise of the people.

Transportation: Minsk Motorcycle. As a British man said in one of the hotels, “I love these Minsk bikes!” They go on, and on, and onâ€¦ No complaints. Perfect bike for this kind of trip.

Accommodation: As I said before, the hotels were good, but private houses were so much more fun and interesting. I prefer private houses.

Food: Sufficient quantity. Food was great. Sometimes better, other times not so good. But no one can refine tasteâ€¦ No problems here. Vietnamese cuisine is great! Good and excellent quality. Sometimes good. Others excellent. I guess that if I do a second trip, knowing what it is like, we could organize it more carefully. But that is why experience is always a plus.

The organization – Guide services: Excellent attitude. Thang was great! Just that he thought I was a more experienced moto riderâ€¦ I apologise for not having made that clear earlierâ€¦Excellent knowledge. Keep it up! It was a great experience I hope to repeat. I’ll practice my moto skills before then. If you would like me to serve as reference for future Spanish customers, I will be more than pleased to do so!

Thang has good language. We had our gaps, but we worked through everything just fine.

The price: No problems here.

How did you hear about us? Through Dancing Roads in Cambodia. I heard of them through the Lonely Planet guide.

Any other comments: I can’t think of any. Just keep up the good work, and thank you so much for a great and special experience! Thanks Thang! Thank you all.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: The first day of 200 km was long – perhaps the initial day could be shorter since there many things to do before starting out from Hanoi.

What were your favorite places? Tram Ton pass and all of the mountain villages.

Transportation: Long live the Minsk! We love the Minsk!

Accommodation: Hotels were wonderful! We only had one homestay and it very nice.

Food: Very, very good. We were able to try all the local, traditional food. We ate fried bee larva! Enormous quantity. Excellent quality. Wonderful – fresh and delicious.

The organization – Guide services: Excellent attitude. Hung and Tien always had a positive outlook and smiling face! Excellent knowledge. We are inquisitive and interested travellers and Hung and Tien were able to answer all of our questions in great depth and detail. It felt like we were students in a class about Vietnam. They taught us everything we wanted to know! Fluent language. They communicated very well! They taught us many Vietnamese phrases and helped us with pronunciation.

The price: Our tour ended due to injury – this is difficult to answer I think the days we spent on tour were well worth.

How did you hear about us? Internet.

Any other comments: Voyage Vietnam guides must learn better first aid skills and carry a better first-aid kit. Also, they could learn more medical terms in English so that they can better translate in the event of medical emergency. During our situation, we had difficulty communicating with Vietnamese doctors via our guides’ translation. The Voyage Vietnam office needs to prepare a better plan of evacuation from anywhere on a tour. It seems like our emergency was the first time Voyage Vietnam had ever considered that an evacuation from a trip might be necessary. Plan Ahead for all possibilities!

(From Voyage Vietnam: Thank you Keith and Nancy! We will improve from this experience.) 🙂

Full name: Keith BERGLUND and Nancy LEAS Address: USA. Contact us if you want to email Mr Keith BERGLUND and Ms Nancy LEAS.

I’m just back from a 11-day trip to Laos and Vietnam with Voyage Vietnam. We took Minsks from Hanoi by train to Lao Cai then rode to Sa Pa, Lai Chau, Son La, Moc Chau, Mai Chau, crossed the border at Na Meo and rode on to Veng Xai, Sam Nua and through to Luang Prabang.

On the way back we visited the Plain of Jars at Phonsavant and crossed back into Vietnam at Na Can. I know that Voyage Vietnam is keen to explore further into Northern Laos (around Houei Sai and Luang Nantha) where the riding, scenery and minority cultures should be fantastic (especially Xieng Kok to Muang Sing).

The border corssings into Thailand and Burma present problems of import tariffs and trade regulations with whichever bikes we ride.

I enjoy the ‘go anywhere, easily repairable’ Minsks; on this last trip my bike broke a piston ring, was easily repaired overnight by a small-town mechanic (new piston and rings installed for US $8). We also did a roadside head gasket replacement on one of the bikes. The guide/mechanics from Voyage Vietnam have complete confidence to keep the Minsks on the road.

Full name: WALLACE Carl. Address: AUSTRALIA. Contact us if you want to email Mr WALLACE Carl.

– Hakan: “For most of the time it was enough time for average riders. Some rest days would be needed on a longer tour.” – Georgia: “Mostly fine although a rest day mid tour would have been good.” – Ashley: “If my seat was softer it would have been good. I just have a soft bum.” – Marty and Chris: “No days were too long. Rest days sufficient. Group riding skills and mechanical faults limited the travelling time so it was well organised given those problems.” – Claire: “The distance each day was about right but we could have done with some time off.” – Josefine: “I loved the homestay – this is the real Vietnam! Between 100 and 200 km is fine to travel, it depends on the road!” – Dieter Gerald: “Planned tour would be great. But it was nice anyway, some short days.” – Andrew: “Some days a little short. But stops great.” – Karin: “Stops were ok, amount was good.”

What were your favourite places?

– Hakan: “Meo Vac and its surroundings.” – Georgia: “Meo Vac and all roads to and from. Meo Vac. Visiting the (palace?) was good to do.” – John: “Meo Vac.” – Ashley: “Every place was different with different things – so no one place stood out.” – Marty and Chris: “Meo Vac area and off road tracks. All the passes the road to Pa So and Meo Vac.” – Claire: “Mai Chau, Son La, Meo Vac.” – Heather: “Homestays. Meo Vac.” – Josefine: “Mai Chau, Meo Vac, Sa Pa.” – Dieter Gerald: “Every places were special, Sapa is one.” – Andrew: “All places were great but the offroad villages and northern scenery were incredible.” – Karin: “Sapa – Meo Vac.”

Transportation:

– Ashley: “Motorcycles were not quite up to the job on steep off road but otherwise ok.” – Marty and Chris: “Bikes were inconsistent in their state of tune and reliability which in our case limited choice of riding. Bikes would be very suitable if properly repaired and serviced before each tour.” – Claire: “Motorcycles – very smoky and noisy.”

Accommodation:

– Hakan: “A mix of both is good. Too many homestays = too much rice wine!” – Georgia: “Accommodation was great and a combination of homestay / hotel is ideal.” – John: “Good both hotel and homestay.” – Ashley: “The accommodation mixture was about right.” – Marty and Chris: “Homestays were very good and we were well looked after by the hosts. A good mix of homestay / hotel nights.” – Claire: “Prefer hotels although the stay at Mai Chau was very enjoyable.” – Heather: “I prefer to stay in private houses, but both (in hotel and private house)” – Josefine: “Private houses – a combination is fine.” – Dieter Gerald: “Private houses are better for sociality and get to know the locals.” – Andrew: “I prefer to stay in private houses – homestays – would prefer homestay rather than hotels.” – Karin: “A good mixture would be fine.”

– Hakan: “Large diverse group. Have to please every body. Very patient guides. For larger groups they need to take more authority. Excellent knowledge. Fluent language. Need to speak a bit louder at briefings and other instructions.” – Georgia: “With the large group we had a good cross section of personalities in our tour guides too. Good and excellent knowledge. Good language.” – John: “Excellent attitude. Good knowledge. Fair language.” – Ashley and Josefine: “Excellent attitude. Good knowledge. Good language.” – Marty and Chris: “All guides were friendly and most helpful although at times did not understand N.Z humour. A lot of fun and good people. Good and excellent knowledge. Good language. Had no major problems understanding or being understood. It was very useful all the guides spoke Vietnamese.” – Claire: “Excellent attitude. Good knowledge. Good language. Fabulous spectaculars put on by local people.” – Heather: “Excellent attitude. Especially Hung. Good and excellent language. Good care of poor motorcycle rides? Good language.” – Andrew: “Good and excellent attitude. Good and excellent knowledge. Fluent language.”

– Hakan: “Great guides with so much knowledge to be able to change the route to suite the riders.” – Ashley: “A bit more information about the handcrafts what we will see and be able to buy.” – Marty and Chris: “Would have no hesitation in recommending Voyage Vietnam tours to anyone – if the bikes were 250 cc just kidding. We were very happy.” – Claire: “We had a wonderful time, Sa Pa was very touristy but everywhere else was a real treat and the people made us feel so welcome.” – Heather: “Take photos of Meo Vac for website and posters for your office to promote Vietnam.” – Josefine: “I loved this trip we had so much fun and I learned a lot about this country! And riding the bike!” – Andrew: “One of the best trips I have been on. You never knew what was around the corner. I will be back next year for another go. The people in the country are incredible.”

Full name: ENDURO TOURING. Address: New Zealand. Contact us if you want to contact this group.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Distance each day was good. Starting earlier to finish earlier each day would allow us to explore each overnight destination before dinner. Lunch breaks roadside are far nicer than restaurants.

What were your favorite places? There are too many to list!

Transportation: Long live the Minsk!!!

Accommodation: The accommodation was always excellent considering the choices. Sometimes a hotel is nicer to relax at the end of a hard days riding instead of homestay.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Distance each day was good. Starting earlier to finish earlier each day would allow us to explore each overnight destination before dinner. Lunch breaks roadside are far nicer than restaurants.

What were your favorite places? There are too many to list!

Transportation: Long live the Minsk!!!

Accommodation: The accommodation was always excellent considering the choices. Sometimes a hotel is nicer to relax at the end of a hard days riding instead of homestay.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Perhaps leave more promptly in the morning and maybe stop for 15-20 minutes in smaller towns for photos.

What were your favorite places? Sapa (road not town) and Ba Be.

Accommodation: I don’t have preference, the hotels were more comfortable but houses more interesting.

Food: Enormous quantity and good quality. Perhaps more variety – we ate same food each meal (lunch and dinner) for 3 days.

The organization – Guide services: The guides (Tuan and Hung) had excellent attitude, good knowledge, good culture, fair ethnology, fair sociology, good and fluent English.

The price: I was happy with the value although perhaps one or two drinks on arrival could be included as standard.

How did you hear about us? Internet search.

Others: Excellent trip, perhaps a little shorter day, great guides too! I will be recommending your company to everyone I meet. Totally unique view of Vietnam. We got to some really out-of-the-way places. Thank you.

Full name: MASSEY Tim. Address: AUSTRALIA. Contact us if you want to email Mr MASSEY Tim.

The organization – Guide services: Good and excellent attitude. Excellent spirit, enthusiasm, rapport with locals + guest, knowledge of route. More info up front each day on expectations, options, uncertainties, status, etc would be an improvement. Greater anticipation of challenge / difficulties with proactive problem solution & avoidance is needed. Front my experience, I do not have the highest confidence that my guide will head off problems & stay out of trouble therefore I felt the need to second guess him at some situations and take an active roll in decision making. At times this required persistent questioning when my guide was trying to withhold information about potential challenges and problems. Still, this is to be expected when travelling like this in a foreign country. The guide was outstanding in bringing me inside the country and culture. And having a good time. Dat spoke good English.

The price: Yes, good value.

How did you hear about us? Mr Cuong across the street.

Others: I would recommend Voyage Vietnam to anyone interested in this kind of trip + willing to take responsibility for their riding & their risks. One of my all-time best international experiences! Also: Small training sessions on handling the bike in different road & weather conditions as the trip goes on could go a long way in preventing accidents.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Would recommend more frequent stops (once per hour) regardless of the scenery. Also, it would be more interesting to stay at traditional Vietnamese villages or at least stop over for food & pictures.

What were your favorite places? Mud driving & scenery around Quang Uyen were very enjoyable.

Transportation: Motorcycle was in good condition but low in power compared to the other bikes on the tour.

Accommodation: We really enjoyed the accommodation. There was a nice family feeling. However, the accommodation at Ba Be Lake is more comparable to a basic hotel with no sense of it being a private house – Although I guess, there was no other option considering the location.

Food: Insufficient quantity. Needed a bigger supply of breakfast! Good quality. Selection was better at homestays rather than restaurants (when the decision was entirely up to the guide)

The organization – Guide services: Great patience, constantly smiling & always working hard. We are surprised to find this section on the questionnaire because no such information was shared with us & often when we did ask questions about customs & different cultures they were brushed off or answered very briefly. We feel that at times we might have insulted the families at the homestays because we didn’t know proper customs. Although it seems as though he has extensive knowledge of politics. Good language.

The price: Yes, good value! We were a little disappointed with the amount of extra expense we had to pay for – But seeing that $50 refund covered these expenses, we are satisfied. Thank you.

How did you hear about us? Walked by the shop & saw the sign with listed tours.

Others: – Recommend your customers to take rubber boots to avoid wet feet for every day of trip. – Recommend customers to take face mask to avoid inhalation of dust & exhaust fumes. – Provide customers with choice of available food options at restaurants & allow them to give their preferences. – With a sight increase in price you can include all drinks (or if that is too vague, may be include 5 drinks per day for each person). – Tour guide can recommend photo stops if the customers seem to be interested in photography. – Tour guide should have snacks available in case of delays. Overall, you’re a great company & with very few changes, you can be perfect! After the way you handled our difficulties throughout the trip, we would recommend you to others. Thank you.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Overall the amount of travelling was appropriate – if we didn’t break down so often we would have arrived at the night stops in plenty of time. We enjoyed having some shorter days with activities other than motorbiking. More little breaks for water & snacks would have been good.

What were your favorite places? The ride to the waterfall Ban Gioc was excellent – very scenic and fun riding. The homestay at Quang Uyen was excellent, the hosts were extremely friendly & accommodation good.

Transportation: The motorbikes were a little old and temper mental, they could have done with a thorough service before the trip. However when they were behaving they were more than capable for the roads we were riding. The equipment was good quality.

Accommodation: We thought the guest house at Ba Be Lake was a little basic but we enjoyed the location. Our favourite was the homestay at Quang Uyen. We enjoyed the mixture of hotel & homestay.

The organization – Guide services: Hung was always working hard. He was very patient and he had many stories to tell. We don’t know if he had knowledge as it wasn’t shared. When we enchanted a Tay tribe he had very minimal knowledge on their culture + customs. Knowledge on international politics was very good! When we asked questions the answers we were given never satisfactory, however we were never given information spontaneously. We feel he may have had good knowledge but we don’t think we learnt anything.

Good language. Hung’s English was excellent however at times we feel our questions were misunderstood so not quite fluent.

We found it hard to include the host families in conversations as Hung often seemed reluctant to translate for us.

The price: We booked the tour with Voyage Vietnam as it seemed to offer the best value for services offered. On the trip we were disappointed by how much we had to pay for but we now understand the mistakes and once explained how the trip should have worked we think it is good value.

How did you hear about us? We found your company on the internet. The response to our email was very quick & efficient and the service at the office was very friendly and professional.

Others: We would have like to experience some more traditional villages and meet some tribal people away from the main visit trail. Some instruction on riding on difficult terrain would also have been useful. Using indicators – especially coming into Hanoi would make following the guide much easier.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: The amount of travel was suitable but at times I found the stops too often & too long in some cases.

What were your favorite places? I enjoyed all peaces away from the hustle & bustles of city life. I found Sapa just another tourist spot.

Transportation: Motorcycle – the bike amazed me with its capacity to do the job – better than expected.

Accommodation: Definitely prefer homestays – feel that some of the hotels could have been down graded to cheaper accommodation without loss of comfort to everyone’s homestay gain. Saving could be spent on food throughout the day.

Food: Sufficient quantity. Great at homestays – average at hotels. Better to eat out of large hotel accommodation.

The organization – Guide services: Good attitude. Excellent knowledge. Good language. The guide was well informed & there was never a feeling of being lost. I think there is always room for a communication improvement on a daily basis to maintain a client’s satisfaction to the daily happening.

The price: The value for money would have been more acceptable to myself if there had been 4 people in the group but travelling with 2 would be my choice.

How did you hear about us? Referal for Digby & Dan then internet research.

Others: The trip & scenery were outstanding, I could not imagine anyone being disappointed & could enthusiastically recommend the tour to anyone I know.

Transportation: Motorcycle. Great little bikes – keep using the Minsks! I want one!

Accommodation: Prefer private houses, definitely. Always made very welcome and much better food. Hotels okay, but homestays much betters.

Food: Sufficient quantity. Often excellent. 2 or 3 times not so good.

Good quality. Varied. Food in small cafes & homestays was good. Food in big hotels not good, suggest not eating in the hotels.

The organization – Guide services: Dat is an excellent guide. He could answer all questions, but did not keep giving us too much information, just what we wanted to know. And he taught me how to ride the motorbike off-road! Good knowledge. Good language. Great to be able to talk to anyone we met, including ethnic minorities with Dat translating. A real good point.

The price: Most days good value, some not so much, due to quality of food plus (unavoidable) the amount of riding we did.

How did you hear about us? Internet.

Others: First aid and emergency arrangements should be made very clear before the tour starts. Essential.

More homestays, please. The hotels were okay, but homestays better to experience the real Vietnam & meet the Vietnam people.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Yes. Of course some days felt long especially the muddy road but we needed to go this far to reach all the towns and sights.

What were your favorite places? The first night in Na Sam, the stilt house at Ba Be Lake – actually all the places!

Transportation: Motorcycle good.

Accommodation: Private houses and guest houses although the hotel in Cao Bang was very nice. I would have preferred a private house on the first night. The hotel was just OK – 1 star. Tell future customers to bring a towel.

I would have liked if Dat had been more explanatory of local culture along the journey. Sometimes I felt I asked too many questions. I felt that Dat paid for more little things that he needed to by agreement. I appreciated this!

The price: Yes, exactly right.

How did you hear about us? Internet – I got lucky.

Others: I appreciated all the little things Dat and Nam did for me – like helping start the motos in the morning. They provided excellent, prompt service.

Thank you for encouraging me to ride in the rain. I ended up loving it!

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Ealier in the tour, we travelled less each day than later in the tour – it would have been better to travel approximately the same distance each day. Next time, I would prefer not to stop at the first two destinations. Rather, I would like to catch the train too and from Hanoi / Lao Cai and spend more time in areas like Sapa, Bac Ha, Xin Man, Vinh Quang and Yen The to Vinh Quang.

What were your favorite places? The drive between Yen The and Xin Man, Bac Ha and Sapa – were all very beautiful.

Transportation: Hung was an excellent guide! The tour would not have been as great as it was without his knowledge and happy-go-lucky nature. The Minsk motorcycles were not reliable vehicles (for riding double). At times they did not have sufficient power to make it up the hills. They were also uncomfortable.

Accommodation: Song Thao homestay – 7/10, Thac Ba – 4/10, Yen The 10/10. All the homestay families were very lovely, kind and generous people who made us feel welcome in their homes.

Food: It was a little difficult because I do not like pork and at the first two homestays they gave us a lot of pork to eat. The food at the Yen The homestay was excellent!

The organization – Guide services: Excellent attitude, knowledge, culture, ethnology, sociology. Hung was an incredible guide. It will be sad that he won’t be joining us for rest of our holiday!

The price: I thought the tour cost was quite high. I’d be interested to see a breakdown of costs – may be I’m mistaken?

How did you hear about us? Internet – Google search.

Others: An excellent adventure. Perhaps you should ask tourists if they have any food requirements before the trip – and then advise homestays accordingly.

Accommodation: The accommodation was OK and was a lot different to how we live in Australia. However all of it was comfortable and adequate to rest. I prefer private houses.

Food: The food again was very different to our usual food and even different to Vietnamese we eat at home. The amount of pork and use of bones was a little hard to get used to.

The organization – Guide services: Hung always has a great attitude. And when we were having problems took charge/responsibility and then sang cheerfully when things got better! He obviously knows his Vietnamese (and world) history! His knowledge of football was also invaluable! He understood all that we said or tried to understand if not clear the first time. We will recommend Hung to all our friends!

The price: The tour was not cheep but in the end we were relatively happy to have spent the amount we did given that we had Hung as our guide, translator, mechanic, comedian, singer and friend!

How did you hear about us? I found Voyage Vietnam mentioned by a traveller who “posted” a message on lonelyplanet.com’s “thorn tree” discussion forum. I then went to Voyage Vietnam website.

Others: I think the tour can be improved by a little more structive at the homestay’s like a tour of farm or cultural lesson or something. This could be optimal but not commonly for travellers.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Great schedule. Some tough days, some easy days, some rest time all perfect!

What were your favorite places? Ba Be Lake house.

Accommodation: I prefered private homes, very good – great experience. Hotel not very clean, not great.

Food: Sufficient quantity. We were vegetarian & were very well taken care of. Thank you! The quality was different at different times, but always fun!

The organization – Guide services: Dat was our guide. He was simply amazing. Great knowledge, great fun, good driving coaching, very intuitive!

We learnt a great deal about Vietnam! We really wanted one more time taking another tour with our guide. He was great fun, knew everything we wanted to know & took great care of us. Thank you! Great language skills!

The price: Excellent.

How did you hear about us? Recommended by Dan from “Digby & Dan” at Explore Indochina.

Others: Initially though the price was high but by the first day, I already had all value, the rest was a bonus! Thank you so much! We will be back!

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Yes, the amount of traveling was suitable. We had plenty of time to rest & enjoy the views.

What were your favorite places? Ba Be Lake Homestay. It was so beautiful with the lake and forest.

Accommodation: I prefered private houses. The hotel we stayed in was not as clean as the homestay.

Food: Sufficient quantity. There were always plenty of food and Dat (tour guide) made sure we were looked after. Good quality. In some places, the food was great, especially the homestays.

The organization – Guide services: Very friendly and helpful and accommodating (because we are vegetarian). Dat was incredible. We leant so much from him about the Vietnamese and other ethnic minority cultures. His translations into English were very good. The trip was great because of his many skills and knowledge.

Great English and translation skills. He is a great communicator and makes us feel very involved with the Vietnamese.

The price: Good.

How did you hear about us? Dan and Digby at Explore Indochina recommended us.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: I chose the 6 day, 5 night trip to northeast Vietnam. Each day offered ample riding time, breaks and opportunities to interact with the local village population. Each of the stops was easy to reach and there were alternate routes discussed depending upon the amount of riding time and the roads surfaces you wanted each day.

All of the overnight stops were great but if I had to pick one I would say Quang Uyen in northeastern Vietnam. The people were personable, the terrain was beautiful, the weather was a bit cooler and I got to meet and know some great people.

Transportation: The motorcycle I used was a Minsk 125cc single cylinder, two-stroke motorcycle. The Minsk got the job done. I wished I could have used a newer motorcycle that was a bit more powerful. Unfortunately, Vietnam has some limitations on the type and size of the motorcycles given the import restrictions, limited availability of spare parts and mechanic training. As a result, the Minsk is the most widely used motorcycle in the Vietnam countryside that has available spare parts & can be fixed by most mechanics.

Accommodation: The accommodations were fine and my preference is to stay in private houses. In private houses, I felt really immersed in the culture and was able to experience life as the family does. Each of the families was extremely welcoming, accommodating and made me feel at home.

In my opinion, 3-4 nights in private houses then a night in a hotel is the ideal mix for the trip.

The organization – Guide services: My guide Tuan is a native Vietnamese who speaks fluent English and French. I think Tuan is a perfect guide that speaks the countryside dialect, knows and respects the ethnic culture customs, is well received in the countryside by the local villagers. I found his attitude, abilities and personal philosophy extremely valuable in making the trip something that I will always remember.

The price: I felt that the price of the tour was a great value for the money. When I return home I will not remember the price I paid but I will remember the experience I had. I feel that Voyage Vietnam is very competitive in their pricing and they went beyond what I expected to make the trip enjoyable, accommodating and a valuable experience.

How did you hear about us?: I did a Google search on the internet and found Voyage Vietnam.

Other: I think picking a group to help organize a motorcycle trip in Vietnam is something that is personal based on the numbers of days for the trip, the type of riding and the areas you’d like to visit. I found Voyage Vietnam to be extremely knowledgeable about the North Vietnam area; knowing the terrain, roads, villages and understanding the local customs and language to put together a great trip. I think their trips are designed to get the best opportunity to see the Vietnamese countryside and experience the culture in remote sections of Vietnam. Voyage Vietnam allows the customer to decide the number of travel days and the amount of riding time per day prior to departing. Once established, Voyage Vietnam designs the trip based on those preferences.

Most importantly, I picked Voyage Vietnam because it is run by local Vietnamese that have lived in the areas that you are traveling and they have an intimate knowledge, understanding and respect for their country.

I plan on returning to Vietnam and will do another motorcycle trip to the northwest with Voyage Vietnam.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: The travel each day was fine, we could stop whenever we needed to and Hung always checked if we were happy with the route.

What were your favorite places? Mai Chau, and the last homestay (Vu Linh). The homestays were amazing. Sapa had too many tourists, it would be better to stay somewhere nearby, but not in Sapa.

Transportation: The Minsk became my best friend.

Accommodation: Homestays are so much better; however, the hotels were very good also. I like the Trade Union hotel in Son La very much, even though the food wasn’t that great.

Food: Sufficient quantity. excellent quality.

The organization – Guide services: Excellent attitude. Hung was a true intellectual, and an amazing friend and guide. He worked so hard the whole trip, even though he has done so many tours lately. Excellent knowledge. Fluent language. He is a wonderful communicator and an excellent diplomat for Vietnam.

The price: Yes

Other: Voyage Vietnam needs more references separate from their own website ? E.g. newspaper article or a review on someone personal website, or lonely planet. Voyage Vietnam can give my email to any potential customers for my honest and supportive reference.

Mr WALLACE Carl (2 people. April 19-27, 2006, Khau Vai Love Market, Motorbike tours) On the road, the success of Vogage Vietnam’s tours depends on their guides. Daily phone contact with the Hanoi office ensures a smooth and co-ordinated tour but the day-to-day decisions are made by the individual guides in discussion with the tour group members, to provide a customised and workable itinerary designed to suit the group’s abilities and expectations.

Which road to take? Has it been raining? Where to refuel, to rest, to eat, to stop for the night?… the guide must answer all these questions.

Voyage Vietnam, as a Vietnamese owned and controlled tour company, recruits and trains the best guides to lead their tours and depends on them to make the right decisions for the enjoyment, comfort and safety of their clients.

Voyage Vietnam has travel access to ALL Vietnam’s touring areas and their guides have special access to host families throughout the country. The guides themselves grew up in the rice fields before heading to university.

With these roots, they are clearly the ones most able to understand and explain the attention to detail and customs of the countryside. Their love and understanding for this way of life is clearly reflected in the encounters with all the locals along the way, whether it be the children on the side of the road, the old man having a break and smoking “thuoc lao” or the women harvesting rice.

Some things change, some things stay the same. It has not always been easy to obtain travel permits to access Ha Giang province in Northern Vietnam. Although this region contains the best of rocky landscapes, superb motorcycle touring possibilities and strong H’Mong culture, Ha Giang province was off-limits to tour parties.

Those of us who travelled with Voyage Vietnam to Ha Gian, Meo Van and Khau Vai enjoyed priviliged access to all provincial amenities; our permits to travel were easily arranged and we were granted every hospitality throughout. At the Love Market itself our guides excelled themselves by somehow securing prime overnight accommodation for us right in the middle of the festival celebrations.

After Khau Vai, the next day we made it to Lung Phin market for a real non-commercialised H’Mong cultural experience as we wandered through the trading heart of the area. Riding into Ba Be the trail became a narrow path following the river; the feeling was that men had used this track for thousands of years. Past the cascades we stopped for lunch before loading the motorcycles on board a boat for the trip down the lake to overnight with our host family.

After nine days we were back in Hanoi, somewhat changed by the grandeur of the north and vastly enriched by the whole experience countryside with Voyage Vietnam.

Full name: WALLACE Carl. Address: AUSTRALIA. Contact us if you want to email Mr WALLACE Carl.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Depending on road, I wouldn’t travel more than 100 km/day so that time could be spent enjoying trip surroundings & location of night’s stay – priority should be clear whether trip is for serious biking or, for example, photography. If possible, stops should be at attracting places; not only Compho villages.

What were your favourite places?: Ba Be (in terms of beauty but not in terms of stay); Thac Ba – great location, family variety (boat ride across lake). Guest house available on lake.

Accommodation: Trip should consist of hotels & private ethnic houses. Maybe alternating between the two. Hotel after hard day on motorcycle.

Food: Sufficient quantity. It would be valuable if trip organizers / guide asked about food preferences before trip. Normal quality. Variety needs to be addressed. Best dinner was last night in Vu Linh. Breakfast need to be better. Guide could carry thermos for tea, coffee breaks on road. Much better than just water bottle.

Sometimes slow on good roads. I think generally more should be known by guide & tourists about what will be seen on the trip, on the road each day, and that it should be about destinations along the way and not just getting to end spot by 5pm.

The price: Yes, but because we had a favourable price. If I were paying 100 USD per day & I got cold food, separate from family, room with only a plastic tarp roof & away from lake after passing luxury hotel rooms. I’d be very angry!

Other comments: Consider spending an entire day in some of the best locations allowing time for exploration, photos & rest from touch roads on motorbike. It is hard to get a good idea of a place if you arrive in the evening & leave in the morning. Or at least Â½ day for not being on bike.

I, for one, would much prefer to go slowly, taking many small breaks, and arrive later to some destinations, than just getting to our hotel early and having to walk around only town. The website should advertise a few standard trips with specific difficulty levels, specific sites (photos) and perhaps categorize trips according to highlights, minorities, markets, natural sites, festival, seasons.

Other comments: Time too short. Our fault definitely to be recommended to friends.

Full name: BELL Kevin Ebden. Address: SOUTH AFRICA.

This is the email Mrs BELL Joy sent to Mr Tuan from South Africa:

From: kevin bell To: Anh Tuan NGUYEN Date: 14:29 24-04-2006 Subject: 2 Days on Bikes Thank you for your Email. Also for the wonderful two days you gave us. We will remember it forever. I hope that soon we will be back to spend more time touring Vietnam on motor bikes. You will have to come with us as I will not trust anyone else!!!

I am glad that you gave the tip to the school and I know what you feel about being lucky. Also I did not say on the report card that we appreciated that you were running an ethical company and really cared for the people that you were dealing with not just us but your staff and the people and families along the way.

I will be writing to Lonely Planet this week and will send you a copy of what I write.

Other comments: We appreciated Tuan doing so much to make it such a pleasant trip, both on the bike and enabling us to talk to the family we stayed with + champagne for Mark’s birthday.

This is the email Mrs BELL Joy sent to Mr Tuan from South Africa:

From: kevin bell To: Anh Tuan NGUYEN Date: 14:29 24-04-2006 Subject: 2 Days on Bikes Thank you for your Email. Also for the wonderful two days you gave us. We will remember it forever. I hope that soon we will be back to spend more time touring Vietnam on motor bikes. You will have to come with us as I will not trust anyone else!!!

I am glad that you gave the tip to the school and I know what you feel about being lucky. Also I did not say on the report card that we appreciated that you were running an ethical company and really cared for the people that you were dealing with not just us but your staff and the people and families along the way.

I will be writing to Lonely Planet this week and will send you a copy of what I write.

Regards Joy

Full name: BELL Joy. Address: SOUTH AFRICA. Contact us if you want to email Mrs BELL Joy.

Accommodation: A great part of the experience was the range and variety of our accommodations. All were good, the hotel in Hanoi was clean and service excellent at a bargain price. The best nights were spent in the homes of private citizens especially the tribal village stays. You just can’t get any closer to experiencing how these proud people live.

Food: I enjoyed all the meals even though the food was not familiar to me. It was part of the adventure to experience new foods prepared according to local tradition. After a long day riding appetites are big and I think I might have gained a few kilos on the tour. Also, because of TET we were treated to a number of very special meals.

The organization – Guide services: All arrangements went smoothly (I booked over the internet) and there were no problems. The tour itself was described as a tour of visiting friends to share the celebration of TET and that’s exactly what we did. Being an adventure tour things did go wrong, flat tires, roads washed out, etc but each event was handled quickly and professionally by the guides.

The price: I thought the tour was a really good value. The chance to meet and stay in the homes of local people was priceless. I’m sure it won’t be long before this type of very personal contact with northern Vietnamese people will be impossible as tourism grows in these areas. hat’s the great thing about motorcycle travel. It gets you too places the tour buses (or cars) can’t manage the roads (or lack of roads).

Other comments: I highly reccommend Voyage Vietnam and Free-Wheelin Tours.

The organization – Guide services: Good logistics and backup-support. Guide (Mr Hung) has fair knowledge of history and culture.

The price: Fair.

Other comments: Beautiful rides into rural areas. Excellent immersion into varied tribe lifestyles and living conditions. Excellent intereaction with locals. Customer service focus has room for improvement.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Very suitable. I wish I could have taken a longer trip.

Accommodation: Wonderful. The home stay families were very welcoming and generous.

Food: Enormous and excellent.

The organization – Guide services: Excellent. Hung speaks fluently English. Hung was a great guide with an obvious pride in showing his country to me.

The price: The price was reasonable, definitely.

Other comments: I will definitely recommend your company to all of my family and friends!

Full name: TOSCANO David. Address: AUSTRALIA. Contact us if you want to email Mr TOSCANO David.

Mr MURPHY Glenn | December 3rd - 4th | Thac Ba Lake | Motorcycle tour

Mr MURPHY Glenn (3 people. December 3-4, Thac Ba Lake, Motorbike)

Accommodation: The accommodation was excellent. I had the best sleep in the 5 months I have been in Hanoi. The welcome we received from the village in Vu Linh was warm and friendly and a tribute to Vietnam Hospitality.

Food: The food was indeed well cooked and clean as we were told it would be from the outset. However, after private discussions with the other members of the group we came to the reality that we just did not like the food and we arrived back to Hanoi very hungry indeed. A motorbike trip involves a lot of energy and foreigners need food that will agree with them in order to be strong and able to deal with long journeys on a motorbike. If this trip lasted longer I probably would have told our guide that we needed food like pasta, bread, sugar, hot drinks, cheese, eggs, yoghurtâ€¦chocolateâ€¦.more westernised foods. Perhaps for the first day you could ask the group to bring with them a packed lunch, sandwiches, fruit, chocolate etc. I think some canned food bought in Hanoi could be brought on the trips with us and then cooked in the villages at night time.

The organization – Guide services: This was perhaps the best part of the trip. I was thoroughly impressed with the organisation from the office and the pre-tour lessons on the bikes. It was my first time using a motorbike and through the help and support of our guide (Mr. Hung), I got the hang of using a Minsk motorbike quicker than I expected. Throughout the tour Mr. Hung was aware of where we were, advised us of the dangers to be aware of and was completely professional with everything that he did. He constantly had to circle back as we stopped to take photographs, toilet breaks, rests etc. He was very careful and never stopped smiling. He is also accomplished in several languages. I felt safe and secure throughout the trip.

Other comments: I will, a soon as I get the chance, use the services of Voyage Vietnam again after such an enjoyable first experience. Their website, e-mail contacts and updates are professionally managed and their office location is ideal for first timers on motorbikes as the route out and into Hanoi does not involve major traffic obstacles.

The price: Ok value; definitely don’t make it more expensive if you want t recruit guests who’re already spent time in Vietnam.

Other comments: In this comment form, I offered many suggestions for how to improve the trip. Nevertheless, please rest assured that I had a wonderful time, and I am very glad to have had this experience. It is definitely the best way to see and enjoy Vietnam.

Full name: A guest from San Francisco. Address: San Francisco, California, USA. Contact us if you want to contact her by email. She didn’t want us to put her name on.

The organization – Guide services: Excellent. Hung was a very responsible guide. He was very good on clean kitchen and proper food. Good guide!

The price: Most of the time, yes.

Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: The amount was ok. More short stops maybe in the country sites. More â€œpick nicksâ€. The towns are not that beautiful, so buy some cans of soft drink, and drink them a few kilometres away from the towns in the scenery.

Transportation: Wow, that a Minsk is able to do all this.

Other comments: My favorite places are the mountains, and the lower lands with the rice fields and small villages. This was one of the best trips I have ever made! A lot of adventure and a good balance on the increase in difficulty. Our guide was great and I would recommend it to everybody, who is not afraid of a wet suit and some dirty clothes. You will see the most beautiful scenery and get off the beaten track. Get more out of your visit and see more of the real Vietnam on a bike!

Accommodation: I liked the private houses very much, but the mixed hotel for privacy was very good. Only the party hotel was bad (as expected).

Food: Enormous and quality really excellent. I really learned to love Vietnamese food during the trip, the traditional breakfasts.

The organisation – Guide services: Excellent, fluent langue. Very enthusiastic and put in a lot of extra efforts for every special wish!

The price: Yes, it was good value.

Other comments: It was a great off-road biking training course. In the end I was fun riding horse paths, rocks and mud. I would not have dreamt of even trying on the seventh day. Overall my best motorcycle trip over.

Full name: DAHLKE Patrik. Address: GERMANY. Contact us if you want to email Mr DAHLKE Patrik.

Accommodation: Staying in the private houses was very nice because of the very friendly and open family. The hotels were not always good. We preferred 2 nights private house, 1 night good hotel, then again private house. Combination is very nice. Not all the hotels were clean, private houses were very clean. Hotel Ba Be (day 7) was good.

Food: Sufficient and good, especially in private houses where we had the best food.

The organization – Guide services: Chi was a very good organizer, experienced guide. Hung was a very thoughtful, attending guide, very willing to learn. Chi was very good in problem solving and a very adult manner of dealing. Once we had a problem (driving in dark) we felt he did not take that serious, but that also was spoken out. After that very good, and we were very satisfied about both guides. Especially Hung was very thoughtful for me (Elisabeth); never let me out of sight for one moment, very caring.

The price: Hotel accommodation should be better. Price seems high if you look at hotels. Sometimes you feel itâ€™s good value, some moments you feel price is high, especially after hard days not much time looking to environment.

Other comments: They knew very much, always explaining and did a very good job in getting acquainted with Vietnamese culture and the differences in tribes. Also to get an idea about Vietnamese politics and way of thinking. We learned a lot about Vietnam in these 11 days, and we had a very good time. During rainy days the difficult road is dangerous and difficult (get very tired). Driving a bike in Europe is different the off-the-road driving in these two days.

This is the original email we received from Mr FLORACK Wilbert and Mrs FLORACK Elisabeth on August 21, 2005. Please be advised that Easia Horizons is now Voyage Vietnam.

Vietnam on the Bike

Are you looking for adventure? You love motor riding? This is your chance to make a dream trip which youâ€™ll never forget for as long as you live. And we speak from experience.

Last June (2005) we travelled through Vietnam, starting in the South, travelled up to the North, which was our main goal for our holiday. We both wanted to rent a bike and discover the North.

In Hanoi we went to Cuongâ€™s Motor shop on advice of the Lonely Planet, which is THE address to rent your bike, the Russian Minsk. They advised us to make inquiries with the opposite situated Easia-Horizons Travel tour office. A recently opened travel agency, which offered us safety, adventure and an unforgettable trip. With them we planned a trip, set a price and already the next day we went on our way. We donâ€™t want to give a long detailed story of our trip. We advise everybody to come and see for themselves what makes the motor trips with Easia Horizons so special.

What we do want to tell is what we have found out about Easia Horizons.

The team of Easia Horizons is very enthusiastic and promises adventure, rock and roll but also loyalty and safety. They have several guides who have complete knowledge off their country and share it with you with pride. What we noticed and what stroked us very much; they want to initiate several developments to help the hill tribes, but not by giving them money.

But with means and utilities which saves nature and natural sources and guaranties their own traditions. They also gave us several advices during our trip.

Please do not give the local people money although you will see a lot of poverty. Rather bring something for the children (no candy or sweets) but ball points, balloons, colour pencils and drawing paper, balls, dolls, and outside games, or whatever. Or medicine for the family. Such as Paracetamol, Zantac or Pantozol for stomach protection, or Ibuprofen, ORS and so on. You can buy medicine for not a lot of money in Hanoi Centre.

Donâ€™t throw anything away into nature, not even a small paper. The locals do not know the difference between paper and plastics. So, if they see the foreigners throwing stuff away into the streets and into nature, they think it is okay and will do the same.

Mostly it is no problem to take a picture of a person, but it does depend on where you are and also which hill tribe people you meet. So please ask in advance if they mind. And if possible send them a copy; you will please them very much by doing so.

Ask advice from Tuan or Hiep before you start your trip, or from your guide accompanying you.

They promise you a trip full of adventure and rock&roll. It is true. We made a trip to remember the rest of our lives. Because of driving the bikes, the circumstances, all the magnificent scenery along the way, the local people we met and because of everything our guides Chi and Hung told us and showing us the way of Vietnamese life.

You can ask yourself, is it worth the price. Everybody must decide that for themselves.

But remember, they will bring you into areas and driving roads you will never visit on your own. You get to know people, the country, the culture and the traditions. Vietnam that you will never get to know on your own. The guides speak and understand English and French. Our guide also could speak some of the local dialects; this was very easy on the way.

Before we talked to the travel agency we roughly planned a route we wanted to drive. But on the map we saw we had to turn back because there were no roads. But Tuan and Hiep knew there were mountain paths. We would never have driven those on our own. Together with our guides we had some very adventures and exciting days. We also spent some nights with families of the hill tribes. There is no better way to get an impression of their way of life and their way of thinking and to get to know their hospitality.

Thanks to the translations of our guides we had a very good contact with the people, which otherwise would not have been possible because most of the people in the mountains do not speak another language than Vietnamese or dialect.

Another advantage was that the guides know a lot about repairing motorbikes. This can be very helpful when the motor breaks down on the way. And also they know exactly which mixture of petrol and oil is needed for the Minsk.

But also their help on the difficult parts of the trip, the way they looked after us and the way they made this an unforgettable trip. They do more than their best, but with pride and honour of who they are and where they come from. The boys all come from the countryside and worked hard to be where they are now. We admire them for who they are and what they believe in. They realise very well that they are a part of their country and represent it with pride. They are the bussiness card of Vietnam.

Tuan and Hiep are working on developing more trips and routes and expanding all the time. They drive new routes themselves before taking tourists on it. Tuan drives the route (on the bike) himself and searches for alternative ways and makes a rock&roll route, you wonâ€™t get with another travel agency. That is what makes them special. The trip isnâ€™t a trip which many other people have made; we have been to places where we were only the second or third tourist!

To make a long story short, go and visit the office and make your dreams come true.

Drive the Ho Chi Minh Trail or the North East Loop, or any other trails they can offer you.

Go to the beautiful, unforgettable, magnificent and kind Vietnam before the big tourist mass discovers it. It will be the trip of your life, which you shall never forget.

We wish you a lot of fun!!!

Shortly, this is a short description of our 11 day-trip, take a map and look up where we were.

Day 1: Leaving Hanoi, driving through the countryside to Thac Ba Lake, where we stay overnight with one of the local families. This is the Dao. We drive ways we can not find on the map, en see countryside so beautiful, we otherwise would have missed. We end up in the mountains in beautiful surroundings where the clock seems to be set back, about 100 years.

Day 2: After a boat trip on the lake, we drive the bikes from the soutside to the north of the lake, to end up again with local people, and stay there overnight. This is Tay.

Day 3: De day starts with visiting the localâ€™s way up on the hill. De people there live so very natural and are absolutely not used on seeing foreigners what makes it very special and a great honour. Especially for us. After that back on the bike and today the road brings us to Ha Giang, where we get a hotel. In Ha Giang we must ask for a permit to visit the area. But here another advantage; our guides arrange everything.

Day 4: From Ha Giang following the Chinese border, to Meo Vac. Again we stay in a hotel. On our trip we meet several hill tribes, and breathtaking spectacular views.

Day 5: Here the mountain path to Bac Me, where we again stay in a hotel. De quality of the hotel is not to our standard, but there is nothing else. It is shame that you need your sight and skills for driving because of all the beauty surrounding you. Every time you think this is the most beautiful part of the trip, and every time it even gets more beautiful!! But not only nature, but also the local hill tribes are worth your while. But the way we look at them, they look back on us, because many people never have seen a foreigner before.

Day 6: From Bac Me we are heading to Ba Be Lake. But because one of us has bike problems (wet after falling down in the river) we donâ€™t reach our hotel in time and get stuck on the mountain. Thanks to the improvise talents of our guide Chi, we can stay with the local hill tribe family (Tay). A perfect example of hospitality. Ask yourself, what would you do if after dark suddenly a few foreigners stands on your door and ask if they can stay for the night. And you have to cook for them as well!! Isnâ€™t it great!??!

Day 7: De bikes are driven on small boats and we have a boat trip on the Ba Be Lake. Today is a relaxing day, a time for rest, which all of us can use after two unforgettable, tiring and beautiful days. After these two days we understand what the mean when they talk about rock&roll. Uneducable, where we have been, the things we saw. Through rivers, passing bamboo bridges, mountain roads. Mud, paddies, and people waving and smiling to us.

Day 8: Van Ba Be to Cao Bang and further to a small village, Huang Hoa, where we stay with a local family (Nung). Fantastic. They honour hospitality, and excellent cooks.

Day 9: To the waterfalls of Thac Ban Giac, one side owned by Vietnam, and half way China. It is very impressing and worth wile a visit, especially before the big herds of tourist discovers it.

Day 10: Cao Ban to Lang Son and further into the hills to Mao Son. A beautiful place with beautiful surroundings. Not mentioned in the Lonely Planet. Here we are near the Chinese border. We had a night we will always remember because of the other visitors that night.

Day 11: Today the trip ends and we go back to Hanoi, arriving late in the afternoon. But welcomed by Tuan and Hiep.